Welcome to the New Year

One of the most blessed things about working with YWAM is that you meet a ton of amazing people and you get to impact and speak into a lot of lives. You make friends and contacts that you will keep the rest of your life.
Now the opposite of that is also true. Here at Media Village we see people come and go roughly every three months. And in December this is much more true because many leave who been around 6,9,12 months. Many of these people, sadly, I will probably not see again in this creation.
I will be honest, these goodbyes are hard spoken, and although this cycle is much easier than the first time I experienced it, it is still hard to see good friends leave.
I wouldn’t trade it either, I have a deep love and affection for those friends that have left and I sincerely look forward to meeting and getting the next group of people God brings through this place.
This constant coming and going has made me aware of one thing however, and that is my relationship with all of you.
Many of you who read this, family, friends. All of you have stood through and supported me through this the past year and a half. You have supported me and loved me even though I am the one who has left and am thousands of miles and an ocean away. .
I don’t get to communicate to you all personally as much as I would like to, or even should at times. Thank you so very much, I hope that your christmas and new years was special and that God moved in significant ways in your life.
This monday started the DTS. (Discipleship Training School) We just finished our first real day of the school and I am really looking forward to getting to know this students.
One of my biggest joys abut the DTS is that it is a school devoted entirely into seeking God and learning more about him.
The personality of the entire base changes, the air around here seems almost charged with the Holy Spirit. The multi-nationality of the school is amazing as well. We have a total of twelve students from seven different nations, including countries in Europe and one from Canada.
The first few days was orientation and getting the students used to the structure of the school and history of YWAM. We started lectures today talking about “Hearing God’s Voice”. This is an awesome topic to start out with. The students are learning about listening to God and the importance of seeking God with everything we have.
The past couple weeks in preparation for DTS and this first week have been very busy but worth it. As busy as the school will be I am fully looking forward to it. Discipleship is one of the things that make me come alive. It is one of the things in my life I feel a strong calling toward.
No matter where I end up in the next few years, or the rest of my life I want to be involved in mentoring people. This past week has just been one more reminder on how much more important people are than any type of profession a person can have. And that profession is just a tool to reach people for God.

I am really looking forward to see God move in the next few months. I pray and hope that you will get to see Him move in your own lives as well.


Happy New Year,
~J